B. R. Hornsby
Well he came to town with a strong pull
Would flash his moves for the worshipful
Shoulder moves from side to side
Go over your head and dot your eyes
Every night about a quarter to ten
>From the middle of June to the summer's end
People would gather from miles around
To see the mighty Rainbow knock 'em down
He'd pull up from around the back
Folk's say, "There's Rainbow's Cadillac"
Fancy shirts and shorts of plaid
Coat of more colors than Joseph had
Every night about a quarter to ten
>From the middle of June to the summer's end
People would gather from miles around
To see the mighty Rainbow knock 'em down
Take a quarter from the collection plate
Every night he would dominate
Jump to the top and pick off a dime
Throw it down at the proper time
Every night about a quarter to ten
>From the middle of June to the summer's end
People would gather from miles around
To see the mighty Rainbow knock 'em down"Well, I remember it all very well lookin' back
It was the summer that I turned eighteen.
We lived in a one-room, run down shack
on the outskirts of New Orleans.
We didn't have money for food or rent
to say the least we was hard-pressed
when Momma spent every last penny we had
to buy me a dancin' dress.
Well, Momma washed and combed and curled my hair,
then she painted my eyes and lips.
Then I stepped into the satin dancin' dress.
It had a split in the side clean up to my hips.
It was red, velvet-trimmed, and it fit me good
and standin' back from the lookin' glass
was a woman
where a half grown kid had stood.
She said, "Here's your last chance, Fancy, don't let me down!
Here's your last chance, Fancy, don't let me down.
God forgive me for what I do,
but if you want out girl it's up to you.
Now get on out, you better start sleepin' uptown."
Momma dabbed a little bit of perfume
on my neck and she kissed my cheek
Then I saw the tears welling up
in her troubled eyes as she started to speak
She looked at our pitiful shack and then
she looked at me and took a ragged breath
She said, Your Pa's runned off, and I'm real sick
and the baby's gonna starve to death.
She handed me a heart-shaped locket that said
"To thine own self be true"
and I shivered as I watched a roach crawl across
the toe of my high-healed shoe
It sounded like somebody else was talkin'
askin', "Momma what do I do?"
She said, "Just be nice to the gentlemen, Fancy.
They'll be nice to you."
She said, "Here's your last chance, Fancy, don't let me down!
Here's your last chance, Fancy, don't let me down.
God forgive me for what I do,
But if you want out girl it's up to you
Now don't let me down,
now get on out, you better start sleepin' uptown."
That was the last time I saw my momma
when I